Uncle Sam Bails Out as Portsmouth Landlord

Uncle Sam sells deed / SeacoastNH.com SeacoastNH.com Presents
Historic Portsmouth #249

The quaint Atlantic Heights neighborhood off Kearsage Way was quickly built in 1919 to house shipyard workers for the Atlantic Corporation nearby. Designed in the style of the English Garden-city Movement, there were originally 278 units in 150 buildings. (continued below)

Selling Cheap Portsmouth, NH Real Estate　

The self-contained low-income village included architectural elements that echoed the historic houses of Portsmouth. But the shipping company quickly closed and the units were auctioned off for as little as $2,000. The advertising poster (detail above) read: "Uncle Sam is going out of the landlord business." What looked like a great deal for low-income families wasn’t. According to the fine print, buyers had to put down 30% and pay off the balance in three years at six percent interest. As a result a private landlord and caretaker system evolved. Today a great many units are privately owned. Prof. Richard Candee wrote an entire book on the neighborhood. Today Atlantic Heights is a registered Historic Neighborhood. (Poster courtesy Kevin Lafond)

Uncle Sam sells off Porstmouth NH Real Esate in 1925 / SeacoastNH.com courtesy Kevin Lafond